Tag Archives: Lake Johnson

90 Second Escape: Walking Lake Johnson

Monday — never an easy time for the outdoors enthusiast. After a weekend of adventure, returning to the humdrum work-a-day world can make one melancholy. To help ease the transition, every Monday we feature a 90 Second Escape — essentially, a 90-second video of a place you’d probably rather be: a trail, a park, a greenway, a lake … anywhere as long as it’s not under a fluorescent bulb. read more

35 places to rent a canoe/kayak in North Carolina

Part of the rental fleet at Lake Johnson.

It’s one of the cheapest recreation deals going: for as little as $5 an hour you can captain your own ship on any number of waterways throughout North Carolina. These bargain basement deals are offered at various county, municipal and state parks throughout the state. read more

Kayaking for the kayakless

It’s hard to paddle this time of year if you don’t have a boat. Only a handful of boat rentals are open year-round (Lake Johnson and Lake Wheeler in Raleigh come to mind), and most of those only open when the 100-degree rule applies (when the combined air and water temperature top 100). Thus, the joys of winter paddling go unappreciated by the masses. read more

Gimme shelter, win a reflective vest

In my previous running life — in my 20s, in the ‘80s — I found myself on two occasions in New Orleans, covering conventions. On both visits it rained, and even though I’m a wimp when it comes to running in wet weather — soggy shoes, chaffing in especially sensitive places, I wear glasses, shall I go on? — I was able to put in my usual five miles thanks to a word of wisdom passed along by a hotel valet: read more

Raleigh greenway’s march to 100 miles: A progress report

I had just said hello to Vic Lebsock when the inevitable happened: A woman walked up and wanted to know the status of a greenway planned through her neighborhood, a greenway years from construction, she knew, but she just had to know the latest. Lebsock excused himself and dutifully walked the woman over to an aerial map of her Lake Johnson neighborhood for “the latest.” read more